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Château Liversan is part of the Domaines Lapalu group and is in the Médoc appellation. It is part of the group of wine domains that has the label Cru Bourgeois, a classification that has been annulled for reasons of legal wrangling and disagreement between proprietors.

The Château Liversan was bought in 1995 by the Lapalu family. They also own four or five other châteaux in the Médoc. The château and cellars have been beautifully restored. The Domaines Lapalu now includes, apart from Liversan, the châteaux Patache d'Aux, Lacombe Noaillac, Lieujean, Le Bosq, Fonpiqueyre, Lagrave, Les Rives de Gravelongue, Les Traverses la Franque, Le Borderon, and Larrivaux.

It is located quite far north in the Medoc. It is surrounded by the vineyards. In the wine cellar there has been some experimentation with "vinification integrale", i.e. fermenting the red wine in barrels to increase the complexity and smoothness of the wine. The grape varieties uses are mainly cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

>> Monday, 29 August 2011

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Chateau Belgrave is an estate in the Haut-Médoc district in Bordeaux, France. It is run by (but not owned by) one of Bordeaux's biggest négociant firms: Vins et Vignobles Dourthe CVBG (now part of the Thiénot Champagne group). It was classified as a 5e Grand Cru Classé (fifth Great Growth) in the old classification of 1855. It is one of the five Classed Growths in the Médoc that is not in a "commune" appellation (Margaux, etc...) but has the broader Haut-Medoc appellation.

Chateau Belgrave has 59 hectares of vines planted with merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot. The soil has a very noticeable gravel contents similar to what is found in neighbouring Saint Julien (almost Graves-like). The vineyards are tended with great care, partially grassed. Harvest is done manually.

The vinification is done in a brand new winery and vat hall, finished just in time for the harvest in 2003. It is equipped with all the latest technology: temperature and climate control etc. Vinification is mainly done in stainless steel tanks, but some wooden vats are also used. If needed, must concentration with reverse osmosis can be used. After finishing fermentation the wines are stored in the (unusually colourful) barrel cellar in oak barriques, some of which are new, for 12 to 15 months.

>> Friday, 26 August 2011

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Château Smith Haut Lafitte is one of the so-called classed growth wineries in Pessac-Leognan in the Graves district of Bordeaux. It is, as you can guess, on gravely soil. In the mid-90s the chateau was bought by the Cathiard family (Daniel and Florence) who still runs it. It is one of the most commercially astute and inventive chateaux in the area. The have built a luxurious hotel and spa in the vineyards, called Les Sources de Caudalie. It has two restaurants and a spa and well-being centre where you can get all sorts of health, skin and beauty treatments using products based on wine making by-products, e.g. skin cream made from grape pips or take a bath in a wine-filled hot-tub.

The vineyard is virtually all in one big square plot around the winery. It covers some 45 hectares planted with merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. They also make some white wine made from sauvignon blanc, sauvignon gris and sémillon. There's a second label called Les Hauts de Smith.

Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere is a big winery in the Pessac-Leognan appellation. Pessac Leognan is just south of Bordeaux city, part of it is actually in the suburbs. A few decades ago it "declared independence" from the greater appellation of Graves of which it was previously a part. It is a bit like the story of someone thinking the club was not good enough for them so they created their own club - all the best known chateaux in Graves are in Pessac Leognan (which is still considered part of Graves too).

Chateau Malartic Lagraviere was acquired in 1997 by the rich Belgian family of Michèle and Alfred-Alexandre Bonnie. They have invested massively in the winery and in the vineyards, as well as in the beautiful chateau itself, located in a small park. Today it is run by the son, Jean-Jacques Bonnie, and his wife Séverine. All the installations have been renewed: new vat-room, new fermentation tanks (stainless steel), now cellar equipment, substantial investment in new oak barrels every year etc etc. They also experiment with various new "technologies", e.g. 'vinification integrale' (fermentation of red wine in the barrel, and oak casks (barriques) of wood other than oak, e.g. acacia.

The vineyard is partially next to the winery, with typical gravely soil. It is planted with vines of the classic Bordeaux varieties: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, and petit verdot. they also make a white wine from sauvignon blanc and sémillon grapes.

>> Wednesday, 24 August 2011

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Chateau La Louviere is located in the Pessac-Léognan appellation, in the Graves wine region, just south of the city of Bordeaux. It belongs to André Lurton, one of the icons of the Bordelais wine scene. The chateau building itself has been beautifully restored by the Lurtons since André acquired the estate in 1965. The vineyards extend over more than 60 hectares, planted with cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, and petit verdot used to make the red chateau La Louviere wines. For the white wines they use sauvignon blanc and sémillon.

>> Tuesday, 23 August 2011

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Chateau la Garde is an estate in the Pessac-Leognan area of the Graves district in Bordeaux, France. It belongs to one of Bordeaux's biggest négociant firms: Vins et Vignobles Dourthe CVBG (now part of the Thiénot Champagne group). Dourthe bought La Garde in 1990 and has since invested heavily in the winery and in the vineyards.

Chateau la Garde has 45 hectares of vineyards planted with both red and white grape varieties. For the red wines they use merlot (64%), cabernet sauvignon (29%), cabernet franc (4.5%) and petit verdot (2.5%); and for the white wines they use sauvignon blanc and sauvignon gris in equal parts. The soil in the vineyards are classic gravel and sand as is often the case in the Graves region. They are making some interesting experiments with very high density plantations (well over 10,000 vines per hectare).

The chai (vat hall) is modern, filled with state-of-the-art stainless steel tanks with temperature control, sorting table etc. After fermentation the wine is aged in wood (oak barriques) underground for a certain time. The consumer can be happy that Chateau la Garde is not in the Pessac-Léognan classification system so can be enjoyed at an affordable price.

>> Monday, 22 August 2011

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Château Haut Brion is an estate located in the Pessac-Leognan area of the Graves in Bordeaux, France. It is one of four (later five) chateaux to be classified Premier Cru Classé, First Growth, in the (now outdated) classification of 1885. The property belongs to Les Domaines Clarence Dillon since 1935. The winery is located in the suburbs of the city of Bordeaux and is today entirely surrounded by suburban housing.

The vineyards of Chateau Haut Brion cover just under 50 hectares. They are planted with classic Bordeaux grape varieties: merlot, cabernet sauvignon (each accounting for between 40% and 45% of the total), cabernet franc, and petit verdot. There are also some white vines split almost 50/50 between sauvignon blanc and semillon.

The winery is of course equipped with all modern winemaking and vinification technology. Stainless steel tanks are used for fermentation. After fermentation the wines are aged in wood for around 18 months in the barrel cellar before being bottled and sold to claret investors on the international market.

>> Friday, 19 August 2011

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Chateau de Fieuzal is a winery in the Pessac-Léognan region in Bordeaux, France. Pessac-Léognan is a sub region (or a break-out district, if you prefer) of Graves, just south of the city of Bordeaux. Fieuzal makes both red and white wines. The reds are made from cabernet sauvignon (dominant), cabernet franc, merlot, and petit verdot. For the white wines they use sauvignon blanc and sémillon grapes. Since the early 2000s Chateau de Fieuzal is owned by a rich Irish banker, Lochlann Quinn and his family.

They have 48 ha of vineyards: 39 ha planted with red grape varieties and 9 ha of white. The vineyards are managed by lutte raisonnée ("sustainable winegrowing"), with as little chemical spraying as possible. The soil is mainly the typical gravely-sandy soil of the Graves region. The winery itself is newly renovated and very impressive. It has a barrel room for aging of the red wines and another hall for the whites. For the whites they are doing some experimentation with the egg-shaped "biodynamic" (as some call it) fermentation tanks.

>> Thursday, 18 August 2011

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The Chateau Richelieu estate is located in Fronsac, in the Libournais in Bordeaux. It was bought some years ago by a group of Dutch and French investors but has recently been sold to a Chinese company. The winery and chateau needed renovation and investment when it was acquired and with constant efforts it has been transformed into a beautiful property. The wines are designed and packaged to attract an international market, rather than the more traditional and conservative French consumers. Fronsac is one of the lesser known appellations in the Bordeaux region, but a wine country where one can find some very interesting and affordable wines. The vineyards are mainly planted with the merlot grape variety and with some cabernet franc and malbec. Winemaking in the winery is relatively modern with e.g. thermo-regulated tanks.

The chateau and winery was acquired by a Chinese company a few years back. The wine will apparently only be distributed in china.

>> Wednesday, 17 August 2011

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Château de la Dauphine is in the region of Fronsac, just to the west of Saint Emilion, in Bordeaux in France. It belongs to the French business man Jean Halley who bought the chateau from the Moueix family in 2001. The Halleys (Jean and his son Guillaume) have invested massively in renovating the vineyards and the chateau (that is now a magnificent building to receive visitors) and have built a new chai (winery facility).

Chateau de la Dauphine is located in Fronsac and Canon Fronsac (which they no longer use though), two small and not so well known wine districts close to Saint Emilion. The vineyards are planted with traditional Bordeaux grape varieties: merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and cabernet franc. The wine maker, Bernard Lamaud, has great ambitions for his wines and makes excellent claret in a modern style. The Halley family has made a fortune in retail and it is clear that they know a thing or two about how to market and sell their wines.

The property is relatively small, only 19 hectares. Looking at the winery and the investments one would easily think that it is a big vineyard. Instead, it is moderate in size, very skilfully run and relatively moderately priced.

The Despagne winemaking family is established in the Bordeaux area since over two centuries. Their base is the Chateau Tour de Mirambeau. They own five different properties and make over 1.5 million bottles of wine each year. The company is today run by the three children of Jean-Louis: Thibault, Gabriel and Basaline.

The domains / wineries where they make wine are: Chateau Mont Perat, Chateau Tour de Mirambeau, Chateau Rauzan Despagne and Chateau Bel Air Perponcher. They have a fifth wine label called Girolate which is a project to make an exclusive top-of-the-range wine. Girolate is a 10 ha vineyard planted with merlot on a soil similar to the one found in Saint Emilion. For this wine they spare no effort, e.g. fermenting the wine in oak barrels (which is not easy for a red wine). Their ffull range includes red, white as well as sweet white wines. Their vineyards are planted with the traditional Bordeaux grape varieties: cabernet sauvignon and franc, merlot for the red wines, and sauvignon blanc, sémillon and muscadelle for the white wines. In the vineyards they use both mechanical (machine) harvest and manual harvest. For the vinification in the wineries they use both stainless steel tanks, other types of fermenting vats and oak barrels.

Chateau Lapeyronie is in the sub-appellation of Cotes de Castillon in the Bordeaux wine region. It is a smallish area with just under 3000 ha. The vines planted in the vineyards are mostly merlot, cabernet sauvignon and franc, and malbec grape varieties.

Chateau Lapeyronie is owned and run by Helene Lapeyronie, who is both winemaker and cellar master. It's a small vineyard with only some 2.5 ha of vines. She has acquired a solid reputation of making high quality wines in this otherwise rather unknown appellation. The winemaking is very hands on. A small team of harvest workers bring in the grapes. Harvest is manual - grapes are cut with secateurs. Grapes are crushed and then put in small stainless steel fermentation vats where fermentation and maceration takes place. This is followed by some time for the wine in oak barrel.

>> Friday, 12 August 2011

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The Chateau de Reignac wine estate is located in what is often called the Entre-deux-Mers region, in the Libournais in Bordeaux. It was bought some years ago by Yves and Stephanie Vatelot who started a massive renovation of the winery and investment program (having previously made a fortune as an inventor and industrialist helped). The Chateau Reignac is located in what is nominally a rather humble appellation but the Vatelots had bigger ambitions than that. Their intention is to make a wine that can compete on the same table, so to say, with the best of what Bordeaux has to offer. The winemaking is ambitious and modern. They are experimenting with e.g. vinification of the red wines in barriques a painstaking and time consuming way of fermenting the red wine in small barrels (Cuvee Balthvs). The property has 80 hectares of vineyards planted on limestone and clay soil.

>> Thursday, 11 August 2011

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Chateau Pey la Tour is in the part of the Bordeaux wine country that is called Entre-deux-Mers. It is a district that is mainly known for its white wines but they also make excellent red wines under the Bordeaux appellation. Chateau Pey la Tour winery is owned by one of Bordeaux's biggest wine merchants (négociants), Vins et Vignobles Dourthe. It used to be called Chateau La Tour (or Latour) but the name was changed a few years back. (Perhaps to avoid lawsuits from a more illustrious Bordeaux chateau?)

The vineyards are extensive: they cover 195 hectares. It produces red wines with the Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur appellations. The grape vine varieties used are classic Bordelais: merlot (that dominates), cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, and a few plots of petit verdot.

Since Dourthe acquired Pey la Tour in 1990 they have invested heavily both in restructuring and replanting the vineyards and in the vinification facilities. The winery is now equipped with modern stainless steel fermentation vats and the latest winemaking equipment.

>> Wednesday, 10 August 2011

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Chateau Lestrille is a family winery owned by the Roumage family. The winemaker is Estelle Roumage, with the help of her father Jean-Louis. It is located in in the village of Saint Germain du Puch in the Entre deux Mers wine region, in the centre of the Bordelais wine country, a short drive from Bordeaux city. The vineyards include traditional Bordeaux grape varieties: merlot, cabernet sauvignon, sauvignon blanc and gris, sémillon and muscadelle. The vines are an average of 20 years old. The winery is in the centre of the village and is equipped with modern temperature controlled stainless steel tanks, as well as traditional concrete vats. They sometimes use micro-oxidation as well as other modern vinification techniques. Some of the red wines are aged in oak barrels (barriques). They make both red wine, white wine and rosé with the appellations Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur and Entre-deux-Mers.

>> Tuesday, 9 August 2011

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The Chateau de Haux estate is located in what is often called the Entre-deux-Mers region, in the Libournais in Bordeaux. Flemming and Peter Jørgensen bought Chateau de Haux in 1985. The vineyard was in poor shape and the chateau itself was in ruins. They were in for plenty of work to put things in order. Now both the red and the white wines are among the best in the district. To finance the development they founded a company where wine enthusiasts can buy shares and get a return in wine and also get the opportunity to stay at the chateau. the vineyards surround the chateau itself. The main building is a beautifully restored chateau of a size that would be just perfect to live in... Winemaking is classic, with fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The range of wines includes both red (the majority of the production), rosé and white.

>> Monday, 8 August 2011

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The Chateau de Castelneau is a old family property in the heart of Bordeaux (Gironde, France), in the Entre-deux-Mers between the rivers Dordogne and Garonne. It belongs to the family of Vicomte Loïc de Roquefeuil. The chateau itself is a fortified edifice that dates back to the 14th century. It has two impressive corner towers. The Roquefeuil family consists of the viscount Loic, his wife Diane de Roquefeuil, and their children Gasppard, Léonore, Emilion, and Elvire.

The Castelneau estate extends over some 100 hectares of which 30 ha are vineyards, 23 ha of red wine grape vines and 7 ha of white grapes. The red varieties that are used are merlot, cabernet franc, and cabernet sauvignon. The merlot is the most planted grape variety (reflecting the whole of the Bordeaux wine producing region). the white grapes are sauvignon blanc, semillon and muscadelle. They have recently planted the unusual grape variety noir de pressac.

Chateau de Castelneau makes five different wines: a rosé, darkly coloured in the tradition of Bordeaux 'clairet', two whites and two reds.

>> Sunday, 7 August 2011

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The Chateau Belle-Garde estate is located in what is often called the Entre-deux-Mers region, in the Libournais in Bordeaux. The vineyards extend over some 45 hectares, mainly planted with red grape varieties: merlot, cabernet franc, and cabernet sauvignon. Today it is owned and managed by Eric Duffau. The Chateau Belle Garde has been in the family sine 1850. Winemaking is classic, with fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The range of wines includes both red (the majority of the production), rosé and white.

>> Saturday, 6 August 2011

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Arcachon is an hour away from Bordeaux. It is situated in the Bassin d'Arcachon and so protected from the Atlantic winds. It is a familiar place to anyone who likes oysters but Arcachon is of course also a big holiday resort for the French.

The town itself has around 12 000 inhabitants and probably a lot more in the summer. Its big attraction is the long, beautiful and sandy coast and all the seafood restaurants. Arcachon is famous for its oysters and mussels but a lot of fish is also caught in the waters outside its coast.

If you get tired of the beach you can have a pleasant walk through la Ville d'hiver (the Winter Town) with its many grand and fanciful villas, built around 100 years ago.

>> Friday, 5 August 2011

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Brand is a famous Grand Cru vineyard in Alsace. It is situated outside of the village of Turckheim, a small, pretty town, a few kilometers north of Colmar.

The total area of Brand is 57.95 hectares. The vines are planted on steep slopes. The combination of granite soil and good sun exposure give excellent wines made from the three Alsace grape varieties riesling, pinot gris and gewurztraminer. The grape most suited to the Brand terroir is pinot gris.

The famous Domaine Zind Humbrecht makes one of the most well known wines from Alsace Grand Cru Brand.

>> Monday, 1 August 2011

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Riquewihr is the most visited of the picturesque towns in the wine region of Alsace. In this fairytale town of 1200 inhabitants 90 % of the houses were built before 1640 and the whole town is classed as a historical monument.

Riquewihr is situated on the Alsace Wine Route (Route de Vin) only a few kilometres north of Colmar.

In the very well preserved medieval town of Riquewihr, with its old city wall still intact, you can go for romantic strolls in the cobbled streets, lined with cafes and restaurants where you can try the local gastronomic food and the wines of Alsace. The local pastries are well known! Try them with a glass of Alsace Vendange Tardive.

Some very famous Alsace wine producers are located in Riquewihr, for example Dopff au Moulin, Hugel and Dopff et Irion.

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